Emirati gemologist travels world to understand precious stones
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Fatma Almheiri, an Emirati gemologist and jewellery designer based in the UAE, travels to gem mines in Africa, Asia, and Europe to gain firsthand knowledge of how precious stones are sourced.
In 2009, she founded Fatma Almheiri Jewellery Art and has since trained over 400 students and professionals. Almheiri’s interest in gemology began with jewellery design and expanded into fieldwork after she realized laboratory study wasn’t enough to fully understand gemstones.
She has completed nearly 38 field trips to more than seven countries, seeking to connect the stones she evaluates with the environments and people involved in their extraction. Almheiri values experience alongside education, believing that seeing a gemstone’s origin changes one’s understanding of its worth. A garnet she extracted herself remains her most prized possession, representing the shift from theoretical knowledge to practical experience.
Almheiri also emphasizes her Emirati identity during her travels, noting the support she receives from organizations like the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the UAE Jewellers initiative. She built her own career path in a field where Arab professionals were previously rare, and advises aspiring gemologists to prioritize education, experience, and fieldwork.
